By Michael V. Cusenza
To look at a positively beaming Mayor Eric Adams on Thursday at The Apollo Theater, one would never believe that he is facing a comprehensive federal indictment.
Adams, who was charged in September by federal prosecutors with bribery, campaign finance, and conspiracy offenses, delivered his fourth State of the City address with gusto, outlining a vision to make Gotham great again.
“Three years ago, I took the oath of office at a time when our city was facing serious setbacks and tough challenges. COVID and chaos had thrown New York into uncertainty and pushed too many families away,” Adams said. “Crime was surging, our economy was tanking, and our housing crisis was growing worse by the year. I told you then that there was no easy solution to these challenges, but with steady hands and bold leadership, we wouldn’t just bring New York City back; we would make it better than ever.”
Adams used Thursday’s speech to unveil new initiatives that he said will create a safer, more affordable city for working-class people, especially those raising a family, all across the five boroughs.
Photo Courtesy of Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office
Mayor Adams delivered his fourth State of the City address on Thursday in Harlem.
From Day One, Adams has made public safety the No. 1 priority of his administration. And on Thursday he claimed mission: accomplished. According to Hizzoner, “America’s safest big city” has gotten even safer. Overall crime continued to fall in 2024, including a 7.3-percent drop in shootings, a 3.6-percent drop in homicides, and a 5.4 percent drop in transit crime. Since coming into office, the Adams administration has seized nearly 20,000 illegal guns and over 80,000 ghost cars and illegal motorized vehicles, like ATVs and mopeds. The administration has also successfully cracked down on illegal smoke shops, shutting down more than 1,300 illegal shops this past year; tackled car theft, helping deliver 12 straight months of declines in 2024; and reduced dangerous lithium-ion battery fires, implementing strategies that led to a 72-percent decrease in lithium-ion battery fire deaths since introduction of a new plan in 2023.
Adams also announced on Thursday that the City will invest $650 million to bolster that work and expand support for New Yorkers living on subways, wrestling with serious mental illness, and at risk of entering city shelters.
To help move more New Yorkers off subways, as well as city streets, and into shelters, the Adams administration will add 900 new Safe Haven beds that offer a more flexible, personalized option for New Yorkers experiencing unsheltered homelessness and have proven a highly-effective tool for moving New Yorkers from homelessness into permanent housing. To help break the cycle of homelessness and hospitalization, the Adams administration will open an innovative facility specifically to support unsheltered New Yorkers with serious mental illness, offer psychiatric care and substance use treatment, and help secure permanent housing. Finally, Adams on Thursday set a new goal: No child should ever be born into New York City’s shelter system, the mayor declared. To make this goal a reality, the Adams administration will launch a pilot program to connect soon-to-be parents applying for shelter with services that help them find permanent housing and prevent homelessness before their child is born, moving new families into stable homes more quickly and preventing lifelong cycles of poverty and housing instability before they begin, he added.
These new investments — which will take place over several fiscal years — will help New York City tackle street homelessness by supporting New Yorkers living on subways, helping connect individuals with serious mental illness to care, and keeping families out of city shelters.
Additionally, Adams reiterated his calls for Albany to pass the Supportive Interventions Act in an effort to give those experiencing severe mental illness the care they deserve and provide assistance to those who can no longer care for themselves, potentially posing a danger to themselves or others.
Adams insisted on Thursday that the city is still formidable.
“In the past year alone, our administration passed historic housing legislation, shattered the record for the most jobs in city history, drove major crimes down, and did so much more to build a family-friendly city. As a result of all these efforts, the state of our city is strong,” he said.
“I always say there are two kinds of Americans: those who live in New York and those who wish they could,” Adams added.
“Where else can you find thousands of parks, hundreds of museums, and food from every culture all just a train ride away? Where else can you catch a parade, watch a baseball game, and ride a free ferry all in the same day?
“Where else can you raise such smart, savvy, global citizens?
“The freedom and opportunity that drew families to this neighborhood and this city have kept New York going strong over the years and still define our city today.”
However, Adams also admitted that the anxiety across Gotham is palpable.
“Extreme costs are forcing too many people, especially working-class families, to make hard choices: between groceries or child care, medicine or clothing, making the rent or moving out,” Adams noted. “I know because I have been there.
“Let’s keep this a city for families: for our families who are here and for those who are on the way; for our working families, our immigrant families, our extended families.
“The greatest city in the world must also be the best place to raise a family: The City of New York,” Hizzoner concluded on Thursday.
Several elected officials praised Adams’ 2025 remarks.
“Mayor Adams showed his strength, focus, and resilience in today’s State of the City address,” said Assemblywoman Jenifer Rajkumar (D-Woodhaven). “He highlighted the record achievements of this administration and a bold vision to uplift all New Yorkers. The mayor presented concrete, common sense solutions to the issues facing our city: mental health, public safety, housing, homelessness, healthcare, and education. I have been proud to work with the mayor to make our government more efficient and solution-driven, tackling New Yorkers’ biggest quality of life concerns. As a new session begins in Albany, I look forward to collaborating with the mayor to continue to bring down crime, provide mental health treatment, build affordable housing, drive down the cost of living, address homelessness, and create opportunities for all.”
